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rmw

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Journal Entries posted by rmw

  1. rmw
    Yesterday, I had the phone call/meeting with doctors which made me realize that my remaining time is short.
    I have a second form of cancer now.
    Truth be told, I have been quickly accumulating thinking in the back of my mind that this could happen. It has, just more quickly than I expected.
    So, rather than continuing to accumulate, I will have to sell the collection I love to the next set of renters of these pieces.
    I dont know how it will be done yet as there are various avenues, thru auction houses and retail dealers on a conseignment basis, to do so.
    Readers of these pages can scan thru them to see the highlights. There are some more. I must have well over a hundred top graded pieces for their type, probably a lot more.
    I do have a catalogue of my British collection which is available if requested. There are some pieces from other countries as well.
    I am sorry to have to post this.
    Mike Watt


  3. rmw
    Here is the first of a few installments on the various types of the British copper and bronze penny, a mainstay of everyday British commerce for generations.
    Its story started with the copper pieces issued under license by the Soho Mint in the 1790s, as the Royal Mint did not have the technology required to produce this kind of quality at the time, and also had other priorities during the Napoleonic Wars. The 1797 piece shown here weighed one full ounce, and was roughly equal to the value of the metal itself at the time.
    The other issue of George III, also shown here, was also produced by the Soho Mint in the first decade of the 19th century.
    Officially produced pennies were not produced after 1807 until well into the reign of George IV, close to 20 years later. An 1826 proof example is shown here.
    Pennies in mint state of the succeeding king, William IV, are difficult to come by in Mint State. Here is a proof example, from 1831.
    All of these types have been graded as 65 or better.
    Next installment will begin to show the various types of Queen Victoria.








  6. rmw
    Here is a selection of Victorian Penny types from my collection.
    First up is an 1844 Head Copper Penny S 3948,, Ms 65 Red, reputed to be the last red gem penny in the former Baldwins vault.
    Next is an 1863 Bronze Head Proof Penny. S 3954, PR 65 RB
    Then an 1876 H Heaton Mint Penny, S 3955, MS 65 Red
    An 1899 Veiled Head Penny, S 3961, MS 65 Red, Comes next
    S 3961A is an 1895 Low Tide Penny High Tide Penny, Ms 65 RB
    Lastly, S 3961B is an 1897 High Tide Penny, ungraded as yet but is most likely either a 63 or 64 RB.
     











  7. rmw
    Just got this back from NGC. An extremely lustrous silver medal, 303 years old, graded as a 64 plus. Purchased at auction in England. Certainly is a different allegory on the reverse than the James II medal. Whereas with James the crown is conferred by heaven (signifying the divine right of kings) , here it is given by Britannia, representing the people/nation.


  8. rmw

    RMW Collection

    By rmw,

    Here is an example of the very rare 1897 High Tide Penny variety, which I picked up last week.
    I bought it slabbed in England as roughly the equivalent of an Ms 63. It might make 64 , especially given the obverse. This is the first piece of this variety I have seen in good condition.
    So , only one piece to go to finish off a complete type set of Victoria copper and bronze. Only the Heaton Mint halfpenny to go. I saw one in basic Unc today. Looking for a gem.
    I will see if my bud Welsh Dragon would agree on my grading assessment, since he won my contest a while back.


  9. rmw

    RMW Collection

    By rmw,

    I just picked up a nice 1932 British halfpenny in 65 RB today. I'm now about 2/3 of the way towards finishing a nice date set for Grorge V halfpennies.Compared to US pieces, British pieces in nice red from the same period are quite scarce.
    Many of my pieces came from the Baldwin Vault in London, where they were kept in pristine condition since their issue, in some cases well over a hundred years ago.
    Baldwins has been in business as a coin dealer since 1872, but it's only in the last year or so that the contents of the Vault are being sold off.

  11. rmw

    RMW Collection

    By rmw,

    OK, fans of coins from across the pond.
    Or not.
    Its time to
    GRADE
    THAT
    COIN!
    Lets see how everyone grades this in US and in British (which is different).
    A winner gets all of the others to genuflect in his or her general direction.
    Good luck.

  13. rmw
    Here are the 1905, 06 and 07 pennies in my collection.
    In those years, the drums of war were beating louder, as the two sides which ended up fighting each other in World War I were pretty much set in these years, and Britain built a new class of battleship, the HMS Dreadnought, which immediately rendered the rest of its own navy, as well as that of any others, obsolete. The naval face by the end of 1907 was on in earnest.





  14. rmw
    Edward VII was the eldest son of Queen Victoria and assumed the British throne after her long reign, in 1901.
    Although Britain was still considered by many to still be the worlds premier superpower, by 1901, her uncontested superiority was in a position of being challenged, by the United States and more crucially, by the recently united German Empire, which by most accounts had the worlds greatest army and was during this time beginning to build up a navy, the object of which was to one day challenge the British Fleet, not seriously challenged since the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.
    At the same time,at the beginning of Edward's reign, Britain still adhered to its policy of Splendid Isolation, not seeing the need to entangle itself in alliances with foreign countries. But the rising power of Germany soon led it to look to gain alliances, first with Japan in 1902. Its interests, unthinkably at the time, began to align with those of its centuries old enemy, France.
    Edward played an important role in gaining for Britain an alliance with France through his visit there in 1904. From that visit grew the Triple Entente between Britain, France and Czarist Russia,
    all of which  ended up fighting on the same side against Imperial Germany and the Austro Hungarian Empire in World War I. The Us also eventually joined that conflict, in 1917, 100 years ago.
    Although the bronze coins made during this reign are plentiful, I dont see all that many that are still in blazing red uncirculated condition.
    I have just recently completed a set, pretty much all MS 65 or 66 Red, with one or two exceptions, where they were graded as RB but still have 75 percent plus red.
    I will post a few here today, the 1902 High Tide and 1902 Low Tide varieties, as well as examples of the 1903 and 1904.
    Many of these pieces were obtained from a source which purchased and wrapped these pieces on their original release, so that they preserved their original red more so than most.
    I will post some more next time. Enjoy!








  15. rmw
    I have one more George III piece to show, and then we move on to later reigns
    There is an 1806 restrike farthing here, struck in the mid nineteenth century using dies left over from the Soho Mint,whose coin making operations had wound up by that point.
    By the reign of George IV, steam powered machinery had finally been installed in the Royal Mint itself and higher quality coins began to be produced in greater quantities after the Napoleonic Wars.
    The George IV proof farthing shown here was made in tiny quantities, well less than 100. 
    I thought I had a proof William IV farthing but dont and so I will show a ringer piece, a red and brown Unc piece.
    These three pieces have been graded either as a 64 or 65.





  17. rmw
    Now that the Coronation Medals I have are done, lets go thru a tour of English and British farthing patterns and proofs.
    Most of these were produced in tiny quantities, often well less than 100.
    First up will be the 17th century pieces I have, a 1665 pattern Charles II (Peck variety 423) and a 1699 proof in silver.
    The 1665 is being graded right now but will probably come out as a 64 or 65. the 1699 proof is a 65, cross graded from PCGS, which also graded it as a 65.
    A fairly large quantity of 1665 dated pieces are out there with different varieties. Generally the longer haired versions (this is one) are more rare than the short haired varieties. To my knowledge this is the first depiction of Britannia on a coin since the days of the Roman Empire. And rumour had it that the lady depicted as Britannia was the Kings mistress.
    The silver proof piece must be one of the best known, although I have seen one or two pretty much its equal. This is an example of a William III Type 2 farthing, and came from the Terner Collection, one of fabulous quality sold more than 10 years ago.




  19. rmw
    So far, starting with James II in 1685, Ive posted examples of official Coronation Medals of the monarchs of England and Great Britain.
    Now, we come to Victoria, who came to the throne as a teenager and gave her name to an age, when the British empire was at its peak and when the sun never set on it, as its possessions circled the planet. Britain was indeed the superpower of most of the Victorian Age.
    This piece is the most recent acquisition and was graded as an MS 64. I thought a nice Victoria medal would be an easier one to get but it turned out to be one of the harder ones.
    Again , the design and engraving are in my opinion superior to most coins, but beautiful coins were produced during this reign as well, notably the Gothic Florins and Crowns.
     

  21. rmw
    You can see the difference in production standards here, between an FDC 1730 Proof farthing and an MS 65 1739. Hopefully you can note the detail to the portrait on the 1730 versus the comparative lack of it on the 1739. Often, the reverse to the currency pieces lacks detail to Britannias head on the reverse (comes out flat due to lack of striking power or deterioration of the dies), although this one has more than most.
     
     




  22. rmw

    1672 farthing

    By rmw,

    Here is an example of the first farthing in the milled series, from 1672. 
    These were often not produced with quality control in mind but this one came out very well for the type.
    It is made from copper and after 345 years i still has some original mint red on it!


  23. rmw
    In 1812, Great Britain was still at war with Napoleon and also was involved in a skirmish with the US called the War of 1812. Neither side particularly wanted to fight it, but it still had significant consequences for the future of North America.
    Emergency conditions still applied with respect to Britain's coinage and so , in addition to the 1804 dollar shown last time, here is a 3 shilling Bank Token piece.


  24. rmw

    1804 Dollar

    By rmw,

    The Bank of England issued emergency currency during the Napoleonic Wars in the early 19th century.
    Here is an example of a Bank of England 1804 Dollar.